


Brilliant Mind (The True Heroes)

by ApexWraith



Category: Boku no Hero Academia
Genre: #QuirklessIsCool, Alternate Universe - Support Course Izuku Midoriya, Bakugou Katsuki gets put in his place, Bakugou Katsuki is Bad at Feelings, Bakugou Katsuki is a Nerd, Bakugou is so done, Bakusquad is on crack, Dekusquad (My Hero Academia), Hatsume Mei is a Good Friend, High School, Izuku Midoriya Stands Up For Himself, Jealous Bakugou Katsuki, Kaito Tanaka, Katsuki Bakugou is whipped, Mentor Nedzu (My Hero Academia), Middle School, Middle School BNHA, Midoriya Izuku & Shinsou Hitoshi Friendship, Midoriya Izuku & Todoroki Shouto Friendship, Midoriya Izuku Does Not Have One for All Quirk, Midoriya Izuku is a Dork, Midoriya Izuku is a Problem Child, Midoriya Izuku is a genius, Natsuki Shimada, Nedzu Training Midoriya Izuku, Quirkless Midoriya Izuku, Romance is healthy, Sports Festival Arc (My Hero Academia), U.A support course is lit, U.A support course is lit af, Vigilante Midoriya Izuku, Yudai Yamamoto, dont be creepy, dont expect smut, they are just teenagers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:41:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 20,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27889951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ApexWraith/pseuds/ApexWraith
Summary: [22nd December, 2020] This fic is not completed yet - a warning to spare you from regretting clicking on this later.Izuku Midoriya realises that being a hero isn’t the only thing he loves.After having his dreams exposed to reality by All Might, Izuku reconsiders whether he really wants to keep pursuing the title of hero. He realises the flaws of the superhuman society, and begins to truly understand the other aspects of heroism and what the title really means.And so, instead chooses to put his brilliant mind to good use.Midoriya sets aside his dream to instead become a gear manufacturer for the U.A support course.
Relationships: Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead/Yamada Hizashi | Present Mic, Bakugou Katsuki/Midoriya Izuku, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 59
Kudos: 349





	1. A New Dream

Midoriya Izuku thought that setbacks were temporary. He was sure of himself that the last one he would have would’ve been the only, but life seemed on a mission to prove him wrong. Turns out, some setbacks are permanent - and some of them are done on purpose.

The greenette stared down at his singed notebook, the number ‘13’ written in neat bold letters now charred and unreadable. Letting out a long sigh, he skimmed through the hundreds of notes, eyes blank with a newfound emptiness. Earlier that afternoon, All Might himself had told Izuku that he couldn’t be a hero without a quirk. Izuku still wondered why he was so surprised with the answer. What else was he expecting? 

Mindlessly kicking a small pebble using the front of his vibrant red sneakers, he looked up from his book and concentrated on where he was going. His mum had asked him to get groceries for dinner this afternoon, so regardless of him having his Shittiest of Shitty days, he’d still do it for her.

He was surprised with how numb he felt. Izuku was sure that having his role model spell it out for him would’ve been more crushing - and yeah, it sort of was at first - but he’d recovered with a dignified swiftness. It felt so surreal, realising that he was still breathing, going about his day as usual. Wasn’t he supposed to be laying in bed, sobbing, replaying the worst moment of his life over and over? Izuku never really thought about what he’d do afterwards.

He felt frustrated. Why wasn’t he more upset? He should be flipping off the universe right now, screeching to the gods like a madman, but instead here he was, getting the groceries like every other person.

Something was niggling at the back of his mind - the real reason.

_After seeing All Might, the person I admire most, crush my dreams without care... I feel like I’m seeing that heroes aren’t as great as they seem._

What are people to heroes and villains? Numbers? Just another point to add to their ranking system?

_Am I just another point to add to All Might’s rescue rank? Just another this, just another that._

The words in his mind made a bitter laugh escape his mouth. Izuku never thought that it’d only take one day for his perspective to change like this. He was realising just how ignorant he’d been. 

_Is this how villains think? Is this how some of them feel? An overwhelming feeling of injustice, a sense of clarity?_

That thought made him feel cold, uncomfortable. 

_Seeing how the this society works... Maybe now I can understand why people do the things they do._

_Maybe categorising people as heroes and villains is just ignoring all the grey space underneath._

Izuku stopped as he saw a flashing light in his peripheral vision. Turning to the shop window to his left, his emerald eyes focused on the television screen sitting on the dusty entertainment unit of a tech store that had clearly seen better days.

**BREAKING NEWS: HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT ATTACKED BY HORRID SLUDGE VILLAIN! THE PERPETRATORS TRIED TO POSSESS THEIR BODY!**

Izuku reads the headline, blinking in curiosity. _It was right near here too... maybe I should check-_

**_VILLAIN DEFEATED BY A SUDDEN APPEARANCE OF STAR HERO ALL MIGHT! THE SYMBOL OF PEACE DISAPPEARED PROMPTLY AFTERWARDS, LEAVING CITIZENS CONFUSED._ **

The greenette’s eyebrow quirked upwards in amusement at this situation. In the past, he would have been sprinting to the scene, taking notes on the heroes and gathering information for his future hero career. With not too much surprise, he realised that he simply didn’t care about geeking out over the hero anymore. He was grateful though, since All Might did save them, after all.

He read over the headline again. That sludge villain, that was the one who attacked him earlier that afternoon. That’s when he met All Might. 

Shit, how’d the villain manage to escape and attack again? 

Realisation dawned on him. 

_The villain must’ve escaped whilst I was distracting him..._

_That attack was my fault!_

Izuku frowned in horror, turning away and continuing on his way towards the grocer with a horrible twist in his stomach - guilt. 

_Whoever had to endure that... I’m sorry. Thank you All Might for saving someone._

_______________________

Bakugou Katsuki wanted to go the fuck home. 

He felt drained and irritable, not to mention shocked. He’d just been attacked by the sludge villain, saved by All Might, and now he was being praised by some random D-list shithead heroes that had done nothing to help him.

_“What an amazing quirk! Please come to my agency after you’ve graduated!”_

Katsuki had promptly ignored them, staring off into space as his body ached and lungs burned. He’d been slowly suffocated for what seemed like around twenty or so minutes. The extras he’d been hanging with had ran off, leaving him to deal with the villain on his own.

Fucking cowards.

Bakugou stood up halfway through another round of praise, slinging his grey shoulder bag over his shoulder and storming through the crowd. It bothered him that it popped up in his mind, but he was surprised not to see a head of fluffy green hair and an ugly yellow backpack anywhere. The nerd usually came to watch these things and takes notes, right? Especially weird for him not to attend it if All Might is in town.

_Why do I even care? Stop thinking about the fucking dweeb._

People in the crowd called out to him, questions and praise ringing through he ears. God, he hated this.

Couldn’t they giving someone their damn space?

It took a while, but he eventually found himself far away from the scene, stomping angrily towards his house.

The door opened before he even to the fence gate, his old man and the hag running towards him at full speed.

“KATSUKI BAKUGOU, WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOUR DOING GETTING ATTACKED BY VILLAINS, HAAAH?! ARE YOU TRYING TO PUT US IN A HOSPITAL!?”

His mothers voice grated in his mind like the scape of chalk against a board as his mother squeezed him to death with what was supposed to be a hug. His father stood behind them with caution, offering him a concerned glance.

_At least someone can take a hint._

“Mitsuki, love, maybe you should let him have some sp-

“YOUR FATHER NEARLY HAD A HEART ATTACK YOU DAMN BRAT. COME INSIDE AND HAVE A SHOWER! HOLY MOTHER OF GOD I WAS SO WORRIED YOU LITTLE SHIT!”

Bakugou couldn’t tell whether she was angry or not, so he instead just shrugged out of her grip and stomped towards the house, his father giving him a comforting shoulder pat on the way past. He ran a hand through his spiky blonde hair filled with grime and dirt, exhausted. Walking to his room and shutting his door, he groaned when he saw the textbook on his desk.

_Shit... I have to study for the U.A’s written exams._

Bakugou frowned. No, there was no point. If he did it now, he wouldn’t be able to concentrate at all. He might as well take a shower and a nap instead of wasting his time with a mock test he’d already aced before.

The teenager grabbed a towel, throwing it over his shoulder and locking the bathroom door. He stripped down, turning the shower on and stepping in immediately. He didn’t even care that the water was freezing, the feeling of cold gradually fading away as the water temperature increased until steam was fogging up the room. 

Bakugou sighed, letting the water pelt against his back.

For a moment, he forgot about the day and found a small window of peace.


	2. Impulse / What is this feeling?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Izuku makes an impulsive decision. Good things ensue, but how is this new change going to make Bakugou feel?

Izuku opened up the front door, a quiet squeak coming from the rusty hinges. Dropping the key into the black pocket of his school blazer, the greenette felt refreshed as a cool breeze of air conditioning fanned his sweaty face. It was quite warm outside, and carrying two heavy grocery bags didn’t make it easier. Dropping the grocery bags onto the kitchen bench, he wiped the sweat from his brow and called out a greeting.

“Hey ‘Zuku! How was school?” Inko asked, emerging from the laundry room and giving him a brief peck on the cheek. Izuku grimaced, thinking for a suitable response to summarise his shitstain of a day. _Oh hey mum, I actually had probably one of the worst days in my entire pathetic existence and somehow I don’t even feel that bad. Oh by the way I was indirectly responsible for a villain attack. You know my old childhood friend Kacchan? Yeah, he chargrilled my notebook this morning. You know, the one I’ve been working on all year?_

”Yeah, uh. I- It was fine, I guess?” Izuku offered the most dull answer he could muster, internally facepalming. _Wow, that has to be the biggest understatement of the year. Good job, Deku. Aren’t you a smart coo-_

“I’m glad,” Inko sighed in relief, making Izuku do the same. He couldn’t burden his mother with his own issues. She already had heaps to worry about, so the best thing he could do is help keep life easy and drama-free...

Well, his mum’s at least. His life has been the equivalent to a crunched up soda can on the side of a highway. Izuku snorted at this, resulting in his mother giving him a curious look.

Shaking his head, Izuku just flicked the kettle on before grabbing his backpack and heading towards his room at the end of the dimly lit corridor. On the way, due to Izuku’s permanently case of clumsy-itis, the teen managed to trip over air halfway there and land on his face.

He let out a groan against the wooden floorboards, blinking his bright green eyes open and looking around. He’d accidentally dropped his notebook with a light thud, leaving its singed pages sprawled out on the floor. 

Izuku picked it up, the open page catching his eye. Curious, the boy walked to his room for better lighting so he could give it closer inspection. On the page was an old sketch for a tactical gauntlet he designed. Feeling slightly excited, he studied it further.

Ah, yes! Her remembers doing this. It was the winter break and school had stopped for a week. It had been a snow day and his mother and him were trapped inside for the weekend. He’d gotten so bored that he’d started coming up with ideas for support items.

This particular one was labelled and explained in detail using small notes. The gauntlet base was made out of a metal alloy mixed with carbon nano fibres - the same material as underground hero Eraserhead’s capture tape that he’d had notes on. It was a flexible but strong material, so it could fit to the wearer’s hand perfectly.

The inside was labelled of being memory foam mixed with a small insulator liner to keep the skin from rubbing against the shell and creation heat or friction. The outside was designed to have a tool slot, built in monitor and heck, was that a taser?!

Izuku giggled. It looked like more of a stand alone item that someone without a quirk would use. He probably designed it for himself for when he became a hero... The greenette grinned. He didn’t want to blow his own trumpet, but this design was truly great. If he could go so far as to actually manufacture it, he totally would.

_Wait._

_Why... don’t I just make it?_

Izuku blinked down at the design blueprints with a blank expression of dumb realisation. The realisation that he has literally _hundreds_ of notes on heroes, weapon and equipment designs, and some of his own designs that he made for himself. If he learned some basic engineering and code, he could try get into a school like U.A or the I-Expo science academy. He could actually go somewhere with this. If he did enough studying and learned enough about mechanics, he could actually design gear for heroes.

_Am I doing this as a substitute for being a hero since I can’t or don’t want to pursue that anymore? This isn’t going to make me regret not being a hero, is it? Is this what I’m really serious about?_

Midoriya thought to himself, taking his own question seriously.

After all, this was a very sudden change... but.. The greenette looked down at his notebook, then to the bookcase where all the others sat, just waiting to be opened and examined. The thought of bringing his ideas to life made him excited, impatient to begin.

_I can utilise all my own talents without needing a quirk. I don’t have to be a hero to feel useful or important._

That realisation hit hard.

_I don’t need a quirk or special ability to succeed. All I need is my own interests and talents so I can do what I love._

For a moment, Izuku felt warm, content. It was the first time in a while that he’d felt so comfortable in his own skin. He wished he felt this more often. It was nice.

_I don’t need anyone to tell me what I can and can’t be. I can decide for myself!_

Placing his notebook down on his bed, Izuku walked over to his computer, waking the monitor up with a smack of the space bar before opening up the web.

> ’ _Youth Engineering Programs Tokyo_ _’_

Bingo.

Izuku opened up the site, eyes skimming over the words carefully, a plan beginning to formulate in his mind.

> _ The Y.E.P is a week-long running program for teens interested in engineering. The workshop is located at Toshima, Tokyo City. Registration is required, along with a portfolio and resume with at least 3 different designs of your own for you to be eligible for being accepted. This program can contribute towards school applications and can serve as extra credit for the follow education establishments _
> 
> _... _

____________________________

It was three days after the villain attack, and there began another dreadful Monday morning. Bakugou Katsuki sighed as two idiots walked up beside him. He fiddled with the grey shoulder bag around his left side, not liking how the strap dug into his skin.

”Hey Bakugou, about the villain attack...”

”We just want to say that we’re sorry we ditched you,” One of them got to the point, ruffling his brown hair in an awkward fidget.

Bakugou rolled his eyes. “Whatever, losers. Now I know that you’re both cowards, so I couldn’t care less what you say,” He added, and the boys gasped before beginning to protest.

“Bakugou, come on man - ”

”Shut up and go away. I’ve got stuff to do, and you extras are starting to get on my nerves,” He added. The two of the goons just opened there mouths to say something before one gave up and dragged the other away, shaking his head. Bakugou just rolled his eyes, shoved his hands in his pockets, spat out a ‘good riddance’ before trudging off to his classroom.

The blonde was surprised when he saw a mop of green hair. Deku was already seated, head bowed and face shadows as he hunched over a notebook. It was the notebook from yesterday - the one that he burnt. The one he thought he got rid of.

”Deku,” He called out, voice laced with an aggressive edge. Katsuki just blinked when the nerd didn’t even pay attention, seemingly caught up in his own world. He was mumbling under his breath, tapping his pencil rhythmically against the wooden desk covered in paper. On the edge of his desk sat a clean white envelope which was seemingly unopened.

Curious but irritated, Katsuki slammed his hand down onto the desk forcefully, successfully gaining the nerd’s attention. Deku looked up, focused green eyes now registering his presence.

“Oh, good morning Kacchan,” He offered sincerely, before looking back down at his paper and frowning as thought in deep thought.

Bakugou had no idea how to respond. He was being outright dismissed by the person who’s usually a bundle of nerdy nerves? What the heck was so important that he didn’t get bothered by him being there?

”What’s with the envelope, dweeb?”

Deku’s eye twitched slightly with concealed agitation (Bakugou noticed), and he looked back up with a half-frown.

“Sorry, I’m actually really busy at the moment. We can chat later?” He suggested with a small smile, before dipping his head again and back to whatever was on the burnt page.

Bakugou face contorted into scowl. What the actual fuck?

“Fucking _excuse me?_ You’re not a goddamn voicemail message, Deku. Don’t ignore me!” He shouted, swiping the envelope from the table. At that, Deku’s head snapped up and a stern gaze was on his face.

”Give it back please, Kacchan. I don’t have time for this right now,” Izuku demanded in a stern, controlled voice. His nose was scrunched slightly, making a few of the freckles smattered across his face disappear.

”Haahh?!” Kacchan shouted, outraged. _Don’t have time? DON’T HAVE fucking TIME for ‘THIS’?_

This was way too out of character for the nerd. Bakugou was too confused to listen to him properly. He hadn’t even noticed the teacher or other students filing in and watching with bored curiosity. _This is probably entertainment for them, he realised with disgust_.

The blonde lifted his hands, ready to scorch the envelope to hell, when the teacher suddenly looked up from his phone.

”Oh, Midoriya, do you have the letters for me? I’m going to need them now so I can register your absent days,” He explained with a monotone voice.

Bakugou’s brain stopped working. _Letters? Absent Days?_

He didn’t even notice the greenette snatch the envelope from his hand and walk over to the teacher with a more nervous fidget that seemed like his usual self. 

“Yes sir. I- I was also wondering if m-maybe you could email me the work during the week s-so I don’t... fall behind?” Midoriya stuttered, one hand tugging at a lock of emerald green curls.

“Yeah yeah, sure. I’m surprised that you got accepted into the program. I didn’t really take you for the type to do this sort of thing, though it does make sense,” The teacher admitted, and Midoriya let out an awkward chuckle.

”Ah, y-yeah. It was sort of recent,” He offered, not knowing what else to say.

Vermillion eyes watched the whole interaction with a steely red gaze. 

_Program? What kind of program did he get accepted into? What the hell is he up to?_

The voice at the back of his head was rolling its eyes.

_Why do you care so much? Just ignore him._

He tried, he did, but Bakugou couldn’t shake off the strange feeling inside him. Anger, sure, but something else. Jealousy? No, he didn’t even know what he’d would even be jealous of.

_Why does everything this guy do piss me off so much? What’s going on?_


	3. The Y.E.P Begins!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Izuku has his first day in the Y.E.P. He meets someone who has the same goals as him. Friendship ensues.
> 
> Bakugou is coming to terms that Izuku’s unexplained absence is bothering him.

Izuku sighed in satisfaction and sat back from his handy-work. He’d just finished packing for the start of the program today. Luckily the workshop provided all the tools and materials for the participants.

Apparently one of the hosts had a quirk that could create metals, and the main teacher had some kind of electrical quirk. So, Izuku needn’t worry about not having any tools or equipment. The course basically granted you access to anything you need, and let you create whatever you wanted - under guidance of course.

Checking his watch, Izuku decided he should leave for the train station. Calling out to his mum with an _“I’m ready!”_ , The two Midoriya’s climbed into the car and quickly set off. It wasn’t soon before he’d arrived and boarded the Shinkansen, of course giving his mum a hug goodbye. Inko was a complete mess of waterworks.

”Izuku! Izuku!” She tapped his shoulder rapidly.

”Nani!?” The greenette cut her off in exasperation. He really needed to get going-

”I’m so p-proud! You’re so cool!” She’d sobbed hysterically, and Izuku had just given a beaming grin before leaving for Toshima city.

_I wonder what it’s going to be like... Hopefully I end up doing well!_

__________

Bakugou felt his mind blank out as the sound of the classroom’s clock ticked idly, every second passing seemingly 10 times longer than it should be. The room was dead quiet as the teacher left to get worksheets for the class, leaving Bakugou to stare at a wall, completely bored to death. He’d never admit it, but the classroom felt empty without the nerd here. It was strange, really, but to turn and not see the green mop of hair was totally unnatural. The greenette was a constant in his life, so the strange absence felt forboding. 

Next to him, one of his classmates snickered. Bakugou whipped his head around to see a boy with dark blue hair and brown eyes smirking at him.

“Yo Bakugou, how many times are you going to look at the empty desk? It’s like you’ve got separation anxiety,” He added, causing a few others to join in. Bakugou silenced them with a single crackling explosion from his palm, to bored to even answer. 

_This is pathetic. ‘S not like I actually talk to the dweeb anyway. Seriously, why am I even thinking about him?_

As much as he repeated this phrase in his confusion, he still couldn’t shake of that melancholy feeling of someone not being here. It was infuriating, but he eventually gave up, realising that it was probably just easier to ignore his brain.

”Alright class, I couldn’t find the worksheets so we’re going to switch our class to PE today. Everyone go and get changed. We’re playing dodgeball,”

Cheers echoed through the room. Bakugou came close to smacking his head into the desk.

__________

Izuku walked towards a large warehouse building, dark blue suitcase dragging slowly behind him.

Clean white tiling made the exterior of the centre. Several large glass panels made up the windows of the three story building. He was wearing a simple long-sleeve green t-shirt with black cargo pants and leather boots - the latter being a safety requirement of accessing the machinery in the rooms.

Izuku was grateful - he didn’t really feel like impaling his foot with a metal rod or something, or stabbing himself with a screwdriver. The greenette was extremely clumsy, so the safety precautions were something he was very grateful for.

Walking inside with a nervous bundle in his stomach, he jumped when he heard a voice call out behind him.

”Yo Broccoli! Wait up!”

Midoriya blinked in confusion, realising that the person was referring to him,

_...Broccoli?_

_...Oh. Ha-ha._

Turning his head, the boy blinked when he say a girl with a bright pink hair and oversized steampunk goggles grin at him and wave enthusiastically. Instantly his nerves kicked into overdrive.

”U-uh sorry. A-am I in your w-way?” He asked, stepping to the side frantically.

The girl just blinked before laughing. 

“You’re funny! I’m Hatsume Mei. What’s your name?”

Izuku was confused. Usually someone’s first reaction to meeting him was a disappointed scowl, like someone just found out that Christmas was cancelled. Recovering his ability to speak like a normal person, the greenette flashed her a tentative smile.

”Oh, my n-name is Midoriya Izuku. It’s really nice to meet you,” He added, holding out a tentative hand. He was shocked again when the girl just slung an arm around his shoulder and grinned mischievously.

”Awesome, I’m going to call you Izu, okay? So, Izu, are you excited for the workshop? At the moment I’m working on a jet pack booster prototype that can lift a person up into the air in small bursts. Wanna see, wanna see?” She rambled with an excited giggle, fists pumping the air.

_Wow, now I’m getting excited!_

Izuku realised that this person wasn’t being rude or messing with him. She was geeking out right in front of him, and for once he felt welcome to reply back in the same manner.

”Sure! I’d love to see it,” He grinned, the kind of one that made your eyes squint close and heart fill with warmth.

_Hatsume Mei, let’s be friends!_

The two walked together, the dialogue being exchange a serious of breathless rambles that the other somehow understood. Hand gestures were erratic and frequent as their voices became expressive and comfortable. A few other kids around them were watching in awe, like they’d just come across a new species of monkey and weren’t sure how to react. 

Midoriya hadn’t even noticed that they’d arrived at the centre and were now in the middle of a large main lobby. Everything was so clean and sophisticated, a large marble desk at the back of the room. Standing with their hands behind their back was a tall woman with a steely gaze. Her grey hair was tied back into a tight bun, and when she saw the students her face lifted into a polite smile.

“Hello everyone, welcome to the _Y.E.P_ centre. We’re glad you could make it. My name is Natsuki Shimada, and I am the co-host of this program. If you can all follow me, we’ll show you upstairs to the quarters where you will be staying for the duration of this week,” She called out, voice projecting loudly and echoing through the the large space. A few excited murmurs we heard at this, making Izuku smile in anticipation.

Shimada set off at a brisk pace, leaving the students behind her to quickly catch up.

”The workshop is divided into four stories - the main lobby, the woodwork and metalwork room, the digital design space and the living quarters on the main floor. The top floor is separated into boys and girls with a recreational centre between the two areas.

For those who are not using the living quarters, you are are to remain only in the rec area and the practical areas. For the first segment of today, we’ll be taking you to the workshop for an overview of the equipment and tools. Before that, we’ll leave you about 40 minutes to settle into your dorm rooms,”

Izuku turned to Mei and smiled brightly. 

”I’m so excited - really impatient, too! I just wanna get started already,” Mei whined, face scrunched up into a pout. Shimada smiled at her, waving a hand in dismissal.

”All in good time. All right, we are here. Please try to unpack your suitcases and set up your bed before the end of this period. You will need to bring your portfolios along too,” She added, before bowing and leaving the students to it. 

The room was instantly filled with the voices of around twelve other kids, curious murmurs and excited whispers.

”Excuse me?” A mumble came from beside him, followed by a timid tap on his shoulder. Izuku almost jumped, but refrained from embarrassing himself just yet and instead turned with a curious gaze. A taller boy was standing next to him, messy black hair covering one of his eyes. The boy looked tired, dark rims under his eyes.

”You dropped this,” He added, holding out Izuku’s binder with notes. Izuku gasped, taking the binder from his hands and bowing in relief. _I didn’t even notice... I would have been totally screwed if the boy hadn’t seen it._

“Wow, thanks! Sorry about that,” He added. The boy just shrugged before falling into step beside him.

”My name’s Kaito Tanaka,”

”Midoriya Izuku,”

”Mei Hatsume,” The pinkette chimed in with a huge grin, and Kaito grimaced. “Ugh, you two are too blinding,” He groaned, leaving both of them blinking in confusion. 

“You look like you haven’t slept for a decade,” Mei teased, and Kaito just scrunched up his nose. ”I didn’t ask,” Was the raven’s response.

”How charming!” Mei chimed back in with a large howl of laughter. Izuku blinked rapidly, a smile beginning to grow on his face. _These people... They’re so nice. I feel really happy._

Kaito just rolled his eyes before stretching out his arms and following the other students inside and into the recreational room. It was fairly large, with a kitchen occupying some of the space in the corner. Several seats and tables were scattered around the room, with small booths lining one wall of the room.

“Yo, I really hope someone knows how to cook,” A shorter boy with spiky red hair grinned charismatically, bright orange eyes scanning the area. A taller girl with long white hair lifted her hand.

”I do. My name’s Akina Hinata,” She added with a small bow, and a few people greeted her. The redhead send her a wave. “The name’s Yudai Yamamoto,” He said loudly. Midoriya tilted his head in curiosity.

_That confidence... It reminds me of Kacchan. Speaking of which, I wonder how he’s doing?_

“Who’s _Kacchan_?” Kaito asked, confused, and Izuku realised he was talking aloud. Unsure of how to describe his relationship to the spiky haired blonde, Izuku just grimaced.

“He’s my... classmate?” He responded hesitantly, his answer more of a question. 

“Ouch, that sounds like an understatement,” Kaito snickered, and Izuku just chuckled bashfully, ruffling up his emerald curls with an awkward fidget.

”I- It’s complicated,”

”I can tell,” Kaito said, tone laced with humour. Izuku just smiled at his (friend??) before waving to Mei.

“I’m going to go and see the boys’ room. I’ll see you l-later?” He questioned hopefully, and Mei gave him a double thumbs-up. 

“Sure!”

Kaito fell back into step beside him, and Izuku also realised that Yudai had joined them too.

“Sup. Don’t mind if I tag along, do you?” Yudai asked, and when Izuku replied with a _“of course not!”_ , The redhead just grinned. “Epic,” He replied casually, causing Kaito to snort. Midoriya smiled broadly.

_I feel like I’ve found where I belong._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit BNHA Chapter 293 is so chaotic! Have you guys read it yet?
> 
> Next chapter coming soon!


	4. Diamond / Is This... Guilt?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Montage of Deku becoming G.O.A.T-ed at Engineering camp.
> 
> Bakugou has a realisation. Feels™ Arise.

The Principal trotted over towards the desk at the main lobby, a pleased smile spread across his small muzzle. His tiny, furry body was concealed under his typical outfit consisting of a white shirt underneath a black blouse, black trouser pants and mustard yellow sneakers that stood out in stark contrast.

”Principal Nedzu - Welcome to the Y.E.P centre. It’s truly an honour to have you here,” The lady at the marble counter bowed, an awed expression on her face. Nedzu laughed, waving a hand. “No, I should be thanking you. I’m very appreciative that I was allowed to spectate today. This program is the perfect place to scout for potential,” He added, and the lady just smiled before gesturing for him to follow. 

The two adults made their way through the pristine white corridor and upstairs towards the workshop room. It was the second day of the program, meaning that the participants had already been given a thorough tour and demonstration on all the different types of tools and machinery.

According to Nedzu’s knowledge, the students were starting today on their own individual projects. This was the best time to examine the participants - whilst their brains were working and imaginative spirit was flowing. To be a successful gear designer in this age, you had to be innovative, inspiring, passionate.

Nedzu wasn’t just scouting for possible support course student recommendations - he was also scouting for a diamond in the rough. Someone he could see absolute potential in and possibly mentor them to bring out that full potential and use it to their best ability.

The white furred chimera thanked the lady as she left him to go inside the workshop, opening the door for him before walking back down the hall simple black heels echoing as they thumped against the sleek grey floor.

_METAL/WOOD WORKSHOP_

_CAUTION, ELECTRICAL MACHINERY MAY BE IN USE._

_UNAUTHORISED ENTRY PROHIBITED_

Nedzu walked straight past the door signs, humming a lighthearted tune to himself. From the end of the room he could see about fifteen kids crowded around a large workbench. Natsuki Shimada was giving each of them a short briefing which quickly finished.

“Today’s schedule is as follows; A two hour period inside the workshop for working on your submitted project. After that will be a half hour break, and then you will have a theory lesson on the basics of structural integrity and review materials used in manufacturing gear. After that you will have a lunch break in the recreational room.

There will be another two hour project period again, but that will be the final scheduled period. After that, students are welcome to either continue their projects, leave the centre for free time or go to their dorms for the rest of the afternoon. Dinner is at 8 o’clock sharp, the same as last night. Also, today we have a special guest. His name is - ”

Nedzu took this as his opportunity to interject.

“Principal Nedzu from the U.A Academy. It’s a pleasure to meet all of you,” He added with a friendly wave, clean white paw high in the air. Almost at once the students were murmuring with excitement, before all giving him an “ _It’s a pleasure to meet you sir!”._

“Please settle down now,” Natsuki instructed, and the room was quiet again.

“This is indeed the prestigious U.A’s principle Nedzu. He’s here today to come and watch you all work. He also requested earlier that you take no mind to his presence, and work comfortably without feeling like you’re being tested.

With that finished, please begin with you projects. I will be coming around to help and give feedback. You’re more than welcome to help out too, Principal,” She added kindly, and the person in mention smiled politely, fixing his tie.

“Lovely. Thank you everybody. I’m looking forward to seeing you hard at work” He chimed, gaining a few claps from the audience.

“All the materials you ordered for todays period is in the storage room. You have two hours until your first break, so please use your time wisely,” Natsuki finished, dismissing them with the click of the timer on her watch. The students dispersed immediately, noise filling the room again as footsteps tapped against the concrete floor.

Nedzu now took this time to begin examining the participants. Pulling out a clipboard, he started to observe each workbench with interest. He always found this fun – watching others create and plan was an inspiration to him. To see people progress and explore was one of the most favourite things about his job.

Nedzu looked to one table, seeing a girl with long white hair place a cup of tea on her workbench before sitting down and carefully examining her project planning.

_She’s taking her time, be cautious and examining everything she has to do. That’s very admirable – many don’t have the patience to study, instead preferring to dive right in and improvise._

_That’s not a bad trait to have either – it’s just a little more…unpredictable. In the end it comes down to what the person prefers. Either can be just as good._

After taking a few notes he turned to the next student – A boy with blazing red hair that was spiked up and ruffled in every direction possible. Nedzu watched in astonishment as the boy picked up a thin sheet of metal. His hands began to glow red, and soon the metal was bending to his will.

_Using a heat generating quirk to weld metal by hand? What a great method. That’s quite creative! He’d be a great addition to the support course – but to take it any further I’d have to see what he does with it._

Something then caught his eye.

A boy walked past the redhead, offering a short wave. He was carrying a stack of notebooks in one hands and reading through a dirty looking one with the other. A pencil was tucked behind his ear, barely visible though the messy green curls on his head. The boy was looking down at the book, mumbling incoherently to the point where he was sure words would start spiralling out around him.

The greenette grabbed a bandanna sitting on his workbench and tied it around his forehead to stop his bangs getting in the way. Nedzu watched in amusement, recognising the bandanna as being All Might merchandise. The teenager then took out a piece of blue paper, opening it up until it was almost four times larger than before. There now sat a large blueprint for a design.

Curious, Nedzu walked over and peered over the desk.

“What do you have there, young one?” He asked with intrigue. The boy jumped with shock before recovering and turning the principal with a nervous smile.

“O-oh, Hi there sir. I’m designing a t-tactical gauntlet,” He explained, nervous voice clearly trying to not stutter.

_He’s a shy one._

Nedzu hummed before leaping up onto the workbench and examining the blueprints. The teen opened his mouth in alarm but quickly closed it and instead waited. He looked like he was about to panic.

Nedzu didn’t mind his timidness, in fact, the chimera was too busy staring at the design in wonder to point it out.

“This is excellent. Did you do this all on your own? Researching the materials and design structure?”

”Y-yes sir. I designed it to be more of a standalone item that doesn’t necessarily require someone with a quirk to utilise,” The teen explained shyly, hands gesturing and a visible sweat on his brow.

“What about the notebooks?” He inquired, and the teenage let out a small “oh!” And took one out of the pile to hand to him. Nedzu flipped it open, skimming slowly through hundreds of pages of detailed notes of heroes, quirks, gear designs and concepts.

_Wow. This is..._

“Very good, very good! I haven’t seen many people design things like this. What’s your quirk, if you don’t mind me asking?” Nedzu asked, restraining the shock he was feeling inside.

The teenager suddenly found the floor extremely interesting.

“I, uh... I don’t have one, sir,” He muttered out, although the answer was a secret that was too terrible to keep.

Nedzu blinked in surprise before smiling and shaping his paw into a thumbs up.

“Why the long face? Not having a quirk isn’t anything to be ashamed of,” He said cheerfully before hopping down back onto the ground. 

The boy looked absolutely floored. 

“R-really? Nobody... nobody has ever said that to be before,” He said, head bowed. Nedzu nodded vigorously. 

“Of course! Sometimes people forget that humans lived without quirks for thousands of years before they came to be. You’re still just as special, quirk or not. Many people forget that,” Nedzu sighed, shaking his head before looking up to see the boy giving him a starry, teary-eyed stare.

_What kind of life has this boy lived to be so heavily impacted by this?_

”What’s your name?” Nedzu asked.

“Midoriya Izuku, sir. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” He added with another bow.

Nedzu smiled kindly before writing the name down.

“Well, Midoriya-kun, hopefully we can chat again soon,” The principal bowed, before walking away.

_I think I’ve just found my diamond in the rough._

* * *

Bakugou walked down the street with a brisk pace, ignoring the weird stares he was getting from other pedestrians. He kept to the edge of the buildings and underneath small overhangs to avoid walking through the heavy rain pelting down along the rest of the street.

It was a cool day, an icy breeze ripping through the town. He hugged tightly to himself with crossed arms, trying to hide the fact that he was fucking freezing. Water dripped along his eyelashes and down the back of his neck, not helping his cause.

_I wish I was there already._

Ten minutes later and his wish came true - finally after what seemed like a stroll through hell, Katsuki stared up at the large building in front of him.

_U.A._

He couldn’t but feel a bit of awe as he examined the huge school grounds in front of him. He stood there for a moment, drinking it all in, before letting out a short grunt and walking inside.

He’d received a letter on Monday afternoon inviting him to tour the school grounds with other people who are interested in enrolling. After convincing himself that he might as well go, the blonde had grabbed a backpack and set off on his way.

There was already a small crowd formed inside the registration building, and Bakugou guessed that that had to be the tour group.

”Wecome everyone, please follow me so we can begin the tour. The rain was unpredictable so we had to make a few changes. Unfortunately we won’t be able to show you the outside facilities,” The tour guide called out, his voice apologetic.

_Damn it. Might as well go home, then. What a waste of time._

”Hey, wasn’t the principal supposed to join us?”

The tour guide shook his head, before explaining - 

“Not today. Principal Nedzu is out on a business trip. He’s currently spectating the Young Engineering Program. It’s a week-long program for a special group of selected students. He did send his apologies, though,” The guide offered, though it didn’t really do much for the kids that were now totally bummed out.

_Double damn it. As if it isn’t already miserable today. This is bullshit._

Without another second, the blonde marched out and back towards home.

**

  
Bakugou sighed as he opened the front door, slinging his wet coat over the hall stand before stomping inside.  
  
“You’re back early,” Masuru commented, catching Mitsuki’s attention.

“It was rained out, and the Principal was out somewhere at some stupid engineering thing,” He complained with a groan and a matching scowl, flopping down on the couch and taking his socks off.

”Engineering thing? That sounds familiar,” Mitsuki admitted, making Bakugou turn around in confusion.

”Wadd’ya mean?”

Mitsuki stared into space, tapping her chin for a few moments before realisation sprung up on her.

”I remember now! That’s the thing that Inko Midoriya’s boy got accepted into. It was a huge thing, apparently only about fifteen out of three hundred applicants get in, not to mention the huge waiting list. She must’ve been really proud. Good on him,” Mitsuki added with a pleased smile.

It took a few moments for the words to register.

_Deku got accepted into a engineering program?_

Another moment passed as the pieces started to come together.

”That damn nerd! That’s why he’s been away from school all week,” He spat, slamming his hand down on the arm chair. His parents turned to him in surprise, and Mitsuki just blinked before tilting her head.

”Did you not know? I thought you two were friends,” Mitsuki shrugged, going back to cooking dinner.

Bakugou stopped at that. _Huh? Friends? Far from it._

“What do you mean? You talk to Inko, right?” Bakugou asked, and his mum nodded with nonchalance, followed by an inquisitive gaze.

“Of course? Deku always says you’re doing fine at school and what not. Why’d you ask?” His mum replied, and Bakugou felt his heart skip a beat.

_Has Deku never said anything about..._

_About what I do? He didn’t ever say anything to his mum?_

Bakugou felt something ugly twist in his stomach - something new and rare. 

Guilt. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed that chapter.
> 
> Someone help me get rid of the duplicate end note that keeps coming up XD p l e a s e


	5. Test it Out!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Izuku’s final days at the Y.E.P draw near, and soon it’s time to say goodbye. Not forever though!
> 
> Uncertain, he wonders what the future will be now that he is heading back home.

Two days passed in a blur, and soon Izuku was waking up on an early Friday morning. Shuffling under the sheets, he pulled his hand out to look at the time. Rubbing his sleepy eyes, he read it as _5:30_ am.

Breakfast would be served in two hours, but Izuku could already feel hunger gnawing at his stomach. He’d been up till the crack of dawn last night with Yudai and a few other students in the workshop, quietly working on their project until they all decided to go back to sleep.

Yanking the sheets of with a quiet _whoosh_ , Izuku grabbed his dark red hoodie from the end of his bed and walked out into the recreational area. He was surprised to see Kaito and Akina Hinata already up and moving.

Kaito was sitting on one of the kitchen bench stools, sipping a steaming cup of tea whilst Akina quietly buttered a piece of bread. The two gave him a wave in greeting, and Izuku waved back happily. He ran a calloused hand through his hair before walking over to the sink and splashing cold water on his face.

It’d only been four days, but he’d worked hard. The gauntlet was almost finished, and everybody else’s projects were thoroughly underway too. His hands were sore and a little shaky from constant work, but Izuku found it rewarding.

He’d already gained a little bit of muscle just from the 4 days he’d been there, tirelessly learning and developing his skills. Not just the practical or theoretical classes were amazing – even the breaks were a fun time. Izuku no longer felt nervous when he was talking to the other participants, especially after Tuesday night when all of them were having ramen together in the rec room.

> “I was laughing so hard that noodles got stuck up my nose,” Yudai whined as Akina handed a serviette. Her face was apologetic. Izuku chuckled, taking another slurp of his shoyu ramen, enjoying the taste of pork and marinated egg.
> 
> Mei was beside him, blabbering on with enthusiasm to another participant called Shouko Sato. The small brunette was shy, her face conveying a tentative smile as she listen to the rowdy steampunk. Kaito cleared his throat from the other side, catching his attention.
> 
> “What’s up?” He asked curiously when he noticed Kaito seeking his attention. The raven hair rubbed at his tired eyes, taking another bite of his mochi ball before putting the bag down.
> 
> “I saw your conversation with Nedzu. He seems like he really likes you,” He said observantly, and Izuku scratched at his neck with a bashful smile.
> 
> “Uh, yeah. We talked a bit, but I didn’t really know what he was thinking,” Izuku admitted. Kaito hummed, before tilting his head.
> 
> “By the way, I overheard him ask what your quirk was, but I didn’t hear your answer since it was so quiet. I’m curious, what is yours?” Kaito asked, and Izuku felt himself shift uncomfortably. Deku felt his confidence begin to plummet, but then remembered Nedzu’s words.
> 
> _“Not having a quirk is nothing to be ashamed of,”_
> 
> _“Humans lived without quirks for thousands of years before they came to be. People forget that nowadays,”_
> 
> Izuku felt resolution well up inside of him, and lifted his head back up.
> 
> “I actually don’t have a quirk,” He said, keeping his voice as controlled and nonchalant as he could.
> 
> Kaito’s eyebrows lifted, but then he just nodded and shrugged, going back to eating his mochi.
> 
> “Oh, really? I could have sworn you had a mumbling quirk,” He smirked teasingly, and Izuku felt a sense of acceptance wash over him. He doesn’t mind.
> 
> _He’s not even teasing me about not having a quirk…_ Yudai who was on the opposite side of the room, splayed out on a couch, lifted his head.
> 
> “Yo, you’re quirkless? That’s so cool! How does it feel? I heard that not having a quirk nowadays is like, super rare. It’s like you’re an ‘O.G human’,” Yudai blabbered, gesturing hands waving around in the air like a bird on crack. Izuku felt a beam take over his face, and soon he was sitting there, explaining the differences between having a quirk, how it felt to not have some sort of ability.
> 
> _An O.G human… I think that sounds kinda cool._

Izuku brought himself back to the present, going to the cupboard and searching for his own pile of stacks that he brought. Reaching to the back of the cupboard he pulled out a bag of dried mango and his cup before heading over to the coffee machine.

Izuku was learning that caffeine was a man’s best friend in the workshop. It had kept him going for days, and he was starting to become addicted. 

What would kacchan would think if he saw him now, talking and getting along with people like it was second nature to him. Would he still think of him the same? Would the blonde still stare at him with the same loathing? After all, he wasn’t prioritising becoming a hero anymore (even though it was a personal decision).

He couldn’t have anything against him, could he? It’s not like Izuku tried to antagonise him - It felt as though his childhood friend just despised his existence in general, and nothing Izuku could possibly do would ever make him change how he felt. That knowledge was crushing. As much as he missed his old friend, it was best he just moved on. 

“Kaito-kun, Hinata-san, what school are you thinking of applying for?” He asked Akina and Kaito quietly as he stirred milk into his mug.

“U.A support course. Apparently they have a very highly regarded teacher running the course, so it seems like an immediate decision for me,” Akina smiled, transferring her honey covered toast onto a plate and sitting down next to the other boy.

“Same, in fact, I’m pretty sure most of us are trying to apply. It’s the best school there is for the course, except maybe the I-Island academy. Apparently the two schools do a lot of transfer programs, so you get to see both of them anyway. What about you?”

“Ditto,” Izuku admitted, glad. There were a few of his friends trying for the same school, then. He called out a soft goodbye and picked up his ‘breakfast’ before heading down towards the elevator and to the workshop. 

Today he went an extra floor, smiling when he saw the large glass door that was the entrance to the tech room. The dim lights came on with short whir, filling the room white blue light. Walking over to a computer on the far end, he looked beside it to see a small screen sitting beside it. It was a tiny computer that he’d been spending the last two days coding. Of course he was new to programming, so he’d had a lot of help from the other co-host that specialised in electronics and digital design. He wasn’t around much, though.

Unplugging the device, he let a grin spread over his face. 

_This is perfect. Once I attach it to the gauntlet, it’ll be finished._

He’d gone over his design with Miss Shimada yesterday to which he’d received feedback and made adjustments accordingly. She’d helped rework the inside, recommending the correct materials to build the inside circuit.

Izuku turned off the computer before walking back down towards the workshop, tying the bandana in his pocket back around his head. His lips curved up into an excited smile.

* * *

The rest of the week passed by after that as people rushed to finish their projects. Finally the last day arrived on a Tuesday. Kaito, Mei, Akina and even the timid Shouko gathered around him as he gazed apon the finished project.

The gauntlet sat on the workbench, the glossy black and green case shining off the dim white light in the studio. 

“Hurry up and put it on already!” Yudai chirped, only to be cuffed over the head by Kaito.

“Let him enjoy the moment, idiot,” 

Izuku chuckled at their antics, but quickly took a deep breath. Picking up the gauntlet, he gently slid the it over his hand, feeling the soft lining of memory foam over his skin.

_Thank god I implemented that in... I can’t imagine anything else feeling so comfortable._

The small lights running the sides of the gauntlet lit up as it detected his presence. That addition was a curtesy of Akina herself.

> _“I’d suggest a sensor for security reasons. If this is something designed for user individually, you’d probably want to add something that stops anyone else from using it?”_

Izuku smiled as the small screen turned on, flashing a bright blue before displaying an icon that looked like a bunny. Once again, Shouko had surprised him with her amazing digital designing skills - she’d taken an interest in his project and had offered to help design graphics and inbuilt lighting. In return Izuku had overlooked her project - a holographic projector.

Izuku spent the next half an hour testing out all the aspects of his gauntlet and also watching the others. Mei had built a huge looking power suit that had kept exploding during the duration of the workshop but now didn’t randomly combust.

Yudai had built a self-powered heat staff that he could use for his quirk. Kaito had designed metal projectiles that he could carry around easily. Since his quirk was to change the density of objects at will, he could use the projectiles as weapon that could hit an opponent and quickly turn into something the weight of a builder without changing size.

Akina had constructed a solar powered wing suit, though she couldn’t test it without having strict safety precautions. Her quirk was photosynthesis, meaning she could absorb solar energy and store it or use it to her will. Izuku had fanned out over it, asking to take notes and interview her. Somewhere deep inside, Izuku was still very much a fanboy, even though it wasn’t such an obsession.

* * *

At the end of the day once their bags were packed and they had thanked the hosts for having them, the six teenagers gathered outside of the centre, each of them with wistful looks on their faces, as though already missing their time in the Y.E.P.

Izuku frowned, green eyes tearing up a bit. Without a second thought, he stopped and bowed abruptly.

”Thank you for being so kind to me. It was a true pleasure to meet all of you,” He burst out, and looked up to see Akina with a perfectly manicured hand over her chest.

“It too was a great experience for me. Thank you very much,” She sighed, before bowing too.

Yudai just blinked, starting to tear up a bit too. “Bro,” He whined, face beginning to pout sadly. Shouko looked upset in general, and Kaito had a duller-than-dull expression on his face, giving away his displeasure at having to say goodbye.

Mei looked at them in wonder.

“You know we can just exchange phone numbers, right? We don’t have to say goodbye forever,” She pointed out, and watched as all of them turned to her with blank minds.

”Oh. I don’t know why I didn’t think of that,” Kaito blinked, before taking out is phone. Izuku followed in pursuit. The next ten minutes was spend bickering over contact names, who wanted to make the group chat and when they should meet up.

Izuku said good-bye after that, waving to his friends before boarding the train. He sat on the window seat, an uncertain frown on his face.

_It’s finally time to return home..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I really appreciate the lovely comments! Next chapter soon!
> 
> \- Apex
> 
> Chapter Word Count: 1798 (ouch.)


	6. Call / Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Izuku gets an unexpected call from President Nedzu.
> 
> Bakugou and Midoriya finally confront each other. Harsh words are exchanged.
> 
> WCC: 4,049

Deku took a seat on the couch, somewhat glad to be back at home in his own safe place. His mum was in the kitchen, concentrating hard on the onigiri she was making. Their reunion had been quite emotional (more for his mum, although Izuku wasn’t too far behind – not that he’d admit that).

Izuku estimates that about three boxes of tissues fell victim to Inko’s merciless tear glands. She’d fawned over the new gauntlet that was now almost permanently attached to his wrist, causing another wave of waterworks.

_”ZUKU! MY BABY! HOW ARE YOU? WHAT WAS IT LIKE? DID YOU MAKE SOME FRIENDS? WHERE’S YOUR HANKY- ”_

That was the greeting he got. His soul almost left his body when he opened the front door for the first time in a week.

His mum brought over his dinner, to which Izuku thanked her before digging in. He’d been living on coffee, ramen and sweets for the past seven days (apart from Akina’s rare meals that were a blessing for all the people who couldn’t cook at the Y.E.P - including him).

Suddenly a loud ring echoed through the living room, causing Izuku to look away from the notebook. He watched as Inko picked up the telephone that was located at the entrance to the hallway and pressed it to her ear.

“This is the Midoriya household, how can I help you?”

A few moments passed, and Izuku saw visible confusion conflict his mum’s usual gentle features.

“You want to speak to Izuku? Uh, sure. ‘Zuku, you have a friend waiting on the phone for you,”

“Who is it?”

“I don’t know,” His mum whispered, hand safely covering the microphone as she passed it over.

Izuku shook his head nervously before putting on a calm voice.

“Hello, this is Midoriya Izuku. Can I help you?” He asked politely.

“Hello Midoriya-kun,” A familiar voice replied, and Izuku’s eyes widened.

“P-principal Nedzu, sir! I’m so sorry, what can I do for you?”

The chimera laughed lightheartedly through the phone before calming himself.

“No need to apologise. I actually call you with the means to make a proposition.” He added, and when Izuku didn’t respond, he went on with a more serious tone.

“I came to the Y.E.P to scout for potential recommendations for support course students. I was more than impressed with everyone, but especially you in particular. Your first impression showed me what an intelligent, creative and diligent person you are,” He went on, and Izuku almost dropped the phone in surprise. On the end of the line, Izuku’s green saucer eyes were wide with awe.

“I’d like to offer you an personal recommendation spot in U.A’s top support class next year. I understand if you already have chosen another op-

“Of course sir! I’d d-definitely accept it!” Izuku almost yelled into the phone, causing his mum to walk over to listen in curiosity.

“Well, that’s fantastic! If you accept, then I can mail you your acceptance statement. I’ve also got another offer,” He added, causing Izuku’s 1000 mile brain to halt in it’s wake.

“If you are interested, I would be willing to mentor you for the rest of this year over online education and meetings at U.A, then forward going into U.A during your time as a high school student.

I know this is very sudden, but I see serious potential in you. Not just as a support course student, but as an inspirational person. It would be a true blessing to take you in,”.

* * *

Izuku sighed in distain as he reached the door to his classroom and stepped inside. Thank the gods, It was empty. _Thank you, to whoever is listening._

It felt so unfamiliar being back at Aldera Middle School. He was already anticipating his return as being nothing but an inconvenience to his classmates and teacher.

Once more, he’d be going back to his usual treatment which consisted of every person in his general vicinity making it their goal in life to tell him that he’s _literal_ trash.

He was already longing restlessly for the sense of newfound acceptance that he’d had during his time at the Y.E.P. He missed having people around him who didn’t mock him for something he couldn’t control, focusing on his best attributes rather than the ones that don’t define him.

Kaito, Mei, Akina, Yudai and Shouko – They’d all looked past his lack of quirk with ease, almost with indifference. Was it just here, in this school, that everyone hated him? Or did he just find a handful of gems that liked him for who he was, rather disliked him for who he wasn’t?

Izuku had already made plans to meet with the five of them again . Kaito offered to meet him at the mall this afternoon and the rest planned a date later.

Not to mention his mentorship would start soon – of COURSE he’d accepted the offer. He and his mother had almost fainted when Principal Nedzu said goodbye, both of them sitting on the floor. They cried for another hour. One more tissue box lost its life.

Everything was changing so fast, and Izuku was sprinting to keep up.

He just had to hold out for a tiny bit longer. Until then, all he could do was persevere. He reminded himself that he wouldn’t have to stay another 10 months until graduation like he would have had to. Instead he’d leave this school and start a new chapter at the start of next week. He hadn’t told anyone yet, not even his new friends. He still needed time to process.

Izuku couldn’t wait. Every second of being at this school was pure torture. On top of already having to deal with people shunning him left and right, he also had one other big problem – Katsuki Bakugou.

Boy, was this going to be one hell of a day. What was he going to say when the blonde heard that he was moving schools? He probably wouldn’t care, which didn’t hurt Izuku as much as it used to. It was such a shame, though. He wished they could just get along.

_Maybe I should just call my mum, pretend to be sick and go ho-_

The bell went at that moment, and Izuku sighed in defeat.

_Nevermind._

Izuku went to seat near the back of the class, dropping his yellow backpack under his seat and flopping down. He noticed the clock sitting above the whiteboard, ticking as usual.

He took the pencil out from behind his ear, placing it against the desk and rolling it back and forward as his classmates filed in.

_I feel miserable._

Some gave him strange looks that said. _Geez, what’s up with him?_ Izuku just ignored him, opting to not care for once.

A feeling of dread for the day ahead washed over him again, and Izuku almost stood up and walked away right there. Well – he would of, if Bakugou Katsuki hadn’t decided to march in at that very moment.

_Is it okay if I swear in my head? Because holy fuck, Kacchan looks pissed._

The blonde had an even more aggressive scowl than he usually did on his face. The top of his school uniform was unbuttoned as usual, hands shoved into pockets and walking like he was out for murder. Blood red eyes scanned the classroom, freezing when he locked eyes with Izuku. The greenette felt pathetic that his fight or flight response was instantly activated.

The greenette with hyper alert, waiting in anticipation to get an explosion to the face, but it never came.

The angry teen walked straight past him with an air of confidence, the atmosphere deadly still. The other students watched this interaction with bewilderment, standing around with curious eyes before the whispers began.

_Not even a sarcastic remark? Not a single curse word?_

Izuku came to a conclusion. He was going to die today.

Before anything else could happen, the teacher arrived holding a lesson plan in hand and a piece of chalk in the other. “Alright, everyone to your seats and notebooks out. This morning we’re doing revision on extended trigonometry, so make sure you have a calculator and pencil. Don’t forget th – Oh, Midoriya. You’re back,” The teacher stated the obvious, and the greenette felt more than a dozen pairs of eyes burn into him.

_Whyyyy?_

Izuku reluctantly looked up from his desk, looking at the teacher with a weary gaze before averting his gaze. Bakugou stared at him from his in front and to the left, eyebrows furrowed in a cryptic glare. Izuku stared back again before sighing and looking down at his paper. A few minutes passed as he looked down at the first question, an answer immediately coming to him.

_Doesn’t he get sick of hating me?_

“Alright, everyone better be ready. Does anyone know what the answer to question one - ”

“Use the ratio SIN to find the opposite side. I got 52, Sir,” Midoriya called out straight away with a slightly louder voice than usual, feeling uncertain even though he knew it was right.

Back at the Y.E.P, they’d had to do a gruelling theory lesson on structural integrity that went for a few hours, which included rigorous worksheets on trigonometry. It was tough, but now looking at it felt as easy as blinking.. He was glad that he took that class, now looking back on it.

The teacher opened his mouth and closed it in surprise before shaking his head and muttering something under his breath.

“Uh, Midoriya’s correct… Moving on, what about question t- ”

“Thirty two point four seven five degrees, sir,” The greenette spoke up once again, a little more confident. Some of his classmates staring at him now. The boy just looked down, typing in the next equations into his calculator with an uncomfortable expression..

“Is he cheating or something? There’s no way the useless idiot is already halfway done with the sheet,” One person spoke out, and Midoriya realised that he was in fact nearly finished indeed.

_This is torture._

* * *

Bakugou was in a foul mood when he stormed into class that morning. Another day of being surrounded by nobody extras, another day of boring class work he already aces, and another day of not getting answers from his very absent classmate.

It had hit him the night before whilst he was out on his evening jog – Deku was taking engineering classes, right? But, _why_ would he? As far as Katsuki knew, Deku had never once outwardly shown interest in designing or engineer work, but had suddenly gotten in to one of the best programs that were available?

So, Katsuki had taken it upon himself to research it a little – And what a surprise is was when he learned that the course could contribute extra credit to those applying for U.A and I-Island academy.

The nerd was sly, he’d give him that much credit. Instead of training himself and his non-existent quirk for the hero course, he was using the Y.E.P as a cheat card to get in. His mother had gone off at him, questioning why he was worked up over it and accusing him of being jealous. Katsuki was furious.

Well he was, anyway, until the morning period began and he’d been absolutely floored.

_Every. Single. Question._

The shitty brat had answered every single question like the answer was written on the board for anyone to see and the rest of the class was full of airheads. The green haired loser had shrugged it off as nothing, before looking back down at his page like he’d rather be _anywhere_ else.

What had happened during the week he was away?

And get this; his phone started fucking _flooding_ halfway through the lesson as notifications came out as a spammed pinging noise. Bakugou had never seen the boy so eager for the floor to open up and swallow him as he frantically turned off his phone and apologised with a short bow.

That didn’t fool Bakugou though – he saw the nerd smiling as he typed something into his phone under the desk a minute later.

He definitely _wasn’t_ jealous. He’d just been angry that the noise had distracted him from working.

_Who’s texting him? It was way too frequent to be one person, and by the sounds of it there was more than one notification text tone, meaning…Multiple people were texting him at the same time, like a group chat._

Whatever, like he said, he wasn’t jealous. He did _not_ get jealous. Especially of Deku, of all people.

So, after the bell went for the end of the day, Katsuki decided he’d get confirmation from the nerd himself, after all, it wasn’t to hard to get him to fess up.

He waited patiently as the rest of the student filed out of the classroom. Of course Deku made no move to leave, instead typing furiously into his phone. Bakugou’s eyes narrowed at that, his fist slamming down onto the table.

  
“Deku,” He drawled out scathingly, and the boy looked up immediately with wide eyes.

“Get your bag and follow me. We need to have a talk,” He demanded, hoisting on his shoulder bag and towering over the nerd’s desk. The boy sighed, putting his phone away. Before grabbing the ugly yellow backpack from under his desk and shrugging it over his shoulders.

“Are you sure that’s necessary, Kacchan?” He muttered under his breath, but the blonde didn’t miss it.

“What the fuck did you just say?”

“Nothing,”  
  


“Thought so,” Bakugou grunted.

The two of them left in silence, the greenette walking behind him as per usual. It took a few minutes, but soon Bakugou was leading him out onto the street and into a dark alleyway. Izuku looked visibly terrified behind him, and Bakugou rolled his eyes.

_Fucker thinks I’m about to murder him, probably._

_Yeah, and why wouldn’t he?_

The niggling thought countered his argument, making something uncomfortable settle in his stomach. He pushed it all away, settling for instead turning around and grabbing the nerd’s wrist.

Deku let out a short gasp as he was spun around so he now had his back to the end wall of the alleyway. Now he couldn’t run off without Bakugou getting answers.

”My mum told me about that stupid course you got into. Youth Engineering Project?” He began, red eyes narrowed into slits.

Deku looked hyper alert, left hand wresting on his right wrist and clutching at the fabric.

_Weird._

”Yeah. W-what about it?” Deku replied, eyes wide and watching Bakugou’s every movement. He felt that familiar churn in his stomach.

_He looks completely terrified of me._

That thought was unsettling, but he had nothing to defend against it. 

_If you don’t like feeling this way, just leave him alone._

_Shut up!_

Bakugou gritted his teeth, taking a step forward.

”I looked it up. You’re using the extra credit it gives you as a way to get in U.A’s hero course, aren’t you? What a joke,” Bakugou added, tightening his grip on the inside of his pockets.

”You’re trying to cheat your way in with easy earned points instead of getting in with a quirk since you don’t have one. 

Do you seriously think that’ll work, hah?! They’ll take one look at you and hurl, you sly bastard,”

The boy’s face was shadowed as he bowed his head, letting the boy’s taunts wash over him.

”I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU NOT TO APPLY!” Bakugou shouted into Deku’s face, but was cut off when a harsh grip grabbed onto his wrist and yanked him away.

Deku’s head whipped up, face contorted into a glare and nose scrunched up in anger. His bright emerald eyes were not filled with passion, but instead a burning fury.

_Huh?_

”Go away, Kacchan,” He spat, and the boy in mention froze, recovering his balance and looking up at the boy with wide eyes.

“Why do you even care?! What is your _deal_? You’ve had so many chances to ignore me and move along, but no. You make it your daily entertainment to put me down, and I’m _so_ _over it_!

If you hate the very knowledge of my existence, then just _look away_!” He screeched back, his cracking voice giving away the true sadness under his harsh words. 

Bakugou let the words sink in as they began to register in his mind. A few moments passed, his face contorting into a magnificent glower. The teen felt a screen of red fill his vision, and he couldn’t even stop himself from lunging at his old childhood friend.

“WHAT’D YOU SAY?!” His hand clenched around the shoulder of Deku’s uniform, yanking it forward and raising a fist. 

In the past, Deku would have sat there and taken it, but Bakugou was proven wrong when two arms grabbed his hands, trying to push back with equal aggression.

”YOU HEARD ME, YOU IDIOT! LOOK AWAY,” Was his response, voice shrill and loud. The words pierced through his skin, seeping deep into his heart. Bakugou was hurt, but at that moment all that hurt was coming out as anger and he simply couldn’t control himself.

There the two of them were, scuffing with each other in the middle of a dark alleyway. Bakugou was caught off guard by Izuku’s new strength. Although it was no match for the blondes, he still put up a fight.

A hand ripped free from Bakugou’s grasp, colliding with his cheek bone. It wasn’t very powerful, but it still hurt like a bitch. Katsuki retaliated, ramming forward so their heads collided. 

Bad idea. They ended up colliding noses since the move was poorly aimed. Now both of them had bloody faces. Izuku squirmed as Bakugou grabbed at the collar of Izuku’s blazer, pulling him forward and shaking him back and forward in anger.

Deku retaliated, letting out a feral sounding growl and sinking his nails into bakugou’s hand and pressing down until Bakugou writhed his hand away with a screech.

_I should stop,_ Katsuki’s mind was screaming at him, but he didn’t feel like he could stop his body.

_This is wrong. Why am I doing this?_

_Why is Deku fighting back too?_

Before he could dodge, a leg kicked out, pummelling into Katsuki’s stomach and sending him flat onto his ass. A sudden weight pinned the blonde to the ground.

He opened his eyes to see Deku on top of him, breathing heavy, frantically as though about to break out in heaving sobs. Without a moment of hesitation he pulled up the sleeve of his right arm, exposing a dark object fastened to his wrist. Bakugou felt fear course through him.

”Oi, oi, Deku, What the _fuck_ is th - ”

A small pin shot out from the strange device, attaching itself to his jacket collar. Bakugou flinched, staring down at it with tiny, alarmed pupils. Deku recovered his breath after a moment, turning his head away and brushing a few tears from his eyes before jumping backwards in a swift movement. Bakugou instantly scrambled to his feet, reaching to rip of the the thing when Izuku yelled out.

”Stop! Don’t t-touch it. That’s a stun pin. It’s just as bad a t-taser,” Deku informed him with a strangled voice, still breathing shallowly, although he wasn’t hyperventilation, unlike before.

Bakugou took his hand away, before leaning against the wall and slumping down. After a moment he looked up, vermillion gaze fixated on the boy in front of him.

Deku was also resting his head on the dirty brick wall, a bead of sweat running down his cheek and blood dripping down his face. The boy took a deep breath but it got caught in his throat, causing Izuku to break out in a fit of coughs.

_They really both just tried to have a fist fight in the middle of nowhere._

A minute or two passed in silence as both of them wondered off into their own worlds, not knowing what to say that could fix the situation they were in.

”I’ll take it off, but only after you listen,” Midoriya croaked, gaining his attention. Bakugou had a glare on his face, but it wasn’t the normal one.

”Please,” Midoriya coughed, wiping his face with the sleeve of his uniform and leaving a bloody stain on the dark fabric.

Bakugou didn’t say anything, but after a moment grunted and looked away.

Midoriya sighed in relief, pushing off the wall so he was standing normally again.

”I’m not applying to U.A for the hero course,” He muttered out, and Bakugou whipped around to face him instantly.

”Huh? Why not?!” 

“Don’t wanna,” Was the best Izuku could muster before he had to clear his throat again. Bakugou didn’t have a response to that. He was not prepared in the slightest for a statement like that coming from Deku’s mouth.

“I’m applying for the support course. For engineering and designing gear. Not just for heroes, but for civilians and other people who don’t need a quirk enhancing item,” He added, and Bakugou shook his head, standing up.

“Weren’t you set on becoming a hero?” Bakugou argued.

Midoriya shook his head.

“Not anymore,” Izuku murmured, dusting off his uniform and averting his gaze.

”I met someone who talked some sense into me. That wasn’t the only reason why... I just changed my views, I guess. Realised some things,”.

Bakugou jaw dropped open in outrage.

”What, so someone said shit, and now you’re just going to give up? Nothing I ever said you listened to, so who the fuck changed your mind?!” Bakugou argued, surprised from the words coming out of his mouth.

“It doesn’t matter,” Izuku cut him off, dusting the grime out of his hair and giving him a rueful smile.

”I thought I should also let you know that... I’m moving schools,” He added, walking over and hastily taking the pin from Bakugou’s jacket. The blonde tensed up at that, and quickly opened his mouth for a refined response.

”The hell you are. Very fucking funny, dipshit,” Was the angry teens immediate response. When Izuku just blinked at him, Bakugou realised that he wasn’t kidding.

”What,” He stated again after a moment.

Izuku didn’t have time to respond as a voice called out to him from the entrance to the alleyway.

“Midoriya! Are you good? Who the fuck is that?” A voice called, and the two boys turned to see Kaito walking towards them. Bakugou stood up, eyes narrowing.

“Good question. Why don’t you tell me,”

Kaito ignored him, instead walking past and over to Midoriya. “You’re covered in blood. What did this guy do to you? Should I call the police?” 

Bakugou stiffened, and Midoriya shook his head vigorously.

”Thanks, Kaito-kun,”

_Kaito...kun?  
_

“It’s fine, though. We just... fought a bit. It wasn’t one-sided, I’m just as guilty,” He admitted, and Kaito sighed in distress.

”I came to get you when I saw Blondy hear lead you into this shithole. Didn’t look too good, Here. Tissue,” He added, pulling out the ruffled white sheet and handing to his friend.

Bakugou watched the two of them with confusion. _The hell is this guy?_

”Oi, Deku - ”

”Let’s go,” Kaito said loudly, cutting Katsuki off. He then felt anger course through is veins when Midoriya just nodded. On the way past, Midoriya stopped, turning to give Bakugou one final glance. The teen seemed to be contemplating something, but after a moment took a deep breath and pulling Katsuki in a quick hug.

Bakugou inhaled sharply, but he couldn’t do anything before his childhood friend let go again even quicker. 

“I’ll see you later, Bakugou. I... I really don’t know why you hate me so much,” The teen murmured, looking regretful.

_I don’t hate you._

Katsuki couldn’t move. His mouth wouldn’t open. His mind was completely frozen.

”I hope we can meet again someday. I’m glad I was friends with you, even though it was only for a short time of my life,” He then added, wiping a tear from his eye. Without another word, the raven haired boy beckoned for the nerd to follow him, and the two walked away, leaving Bakugou alone with the most gruelling expression of brokenness on his face. It was too much for him to handle.

_Deku’s... leaving?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was hard to write, ngl. Hope it isn’t a bust


	7. Progression / Encounter!

Ten whole months passed in the blink of an eye.

Izuku Midoriya’s life had changed as soon as his schooling under Nedzu had begun. The white furred chimera had given him the brutal training program he’d ever seen – turns out that the principal hadn’t just planned on training him in his engineering and designing abilities, but also his physical abilities too.

The greenette followed a packed routine. He began exercising vigorously everyday, following a strict diet that ensure that he was getting the proper ‘brain food’ (as Nedzu had called it) he needed to develop healthily.

He was to undertake _college_ level Engineering Foundation (Izuku struggled a _lot_ with the new difficulty for a while). He soon excelled at mathematics, chemistry and basic software design under Nedzu’s tutelage. Izuku had never worked so hard in his life.

In those ten months, Izuku became a support course protégé. He had not only become exceptionally intelligent and educated on the path of design and engineering, but also physically in great form. He had been required to take mixed martial arts and several self defence classes during the week too.

During his time training in his last year of middle school, Izuku’s nerd brain had gone into a blissful spree. All his 15 years of pent up ideas had finally been unable to break free, causing over 10 notebooks to fill up in rapid succession. It was like his hand just couldn’t stop writing. He felt like he was in paradise.

He notated _everything_ , from passing ideas in his head, to martial art moves, to combat strategies and gear designs and even down to the compositions of metals and chemicals.

When June came around, the Y.E.P invited Midoriya to participate in the advanced workshop where he was finally reunited with his gang again. He’d been so busy since his training had started that he’d rarely been able to hang out with them.

On occasion, he’d been able to escape for a day or so to hang out with Kaito and Hatsume, who lived the closest to him, but he’d never got to see Yudai, Akina or Shouko face to face since their first encounter.

That workshop was more intense than the last by tenfold. The six of them all had portfolios filled with ideas, and they spent many many hours pouring over the mechanics and finding inspiration. Izuku felt like he was dreaming. He felt so blessed.

That week, he’d created several pieces of equipment, and so had the others (although a few of Hatsume’s were lost due to spontaneous combustion).

Shouka revealed that she’d been offered a spot in Shiketsu high school’s support course and had accepted, which resulted in a bittersweet but exciting celebration for her achievements.

Akina also confessed that she’d had the chance to go to the I-Island and meet David Shield, a famous support engineer. To say the least, Izuku’s inner fanboy kicked in.

July had arrived after that, along with his birthday. Hatsume presented him with her first safely tested pair of electromagnetically inducted boots.

She explained that she planned on submitting the original prototype for the U.A entrance exam, along with her power suit that had now been fully finished. A tissue box lost its life.

Kaito had seemed bashful as he handed Izuku his gift, muttering “It’s nowhere near as cool as Hatsume’s gift, but there’s no going back now,”.

  
It was a dark red bandana with his green bunny logo printed at the very front.

“That’s logo is curtesy of Shouka. She helped me design it over long distance. I figured you probably wanted to ditch the All Might one and get a new fit,” Kaito had explained with an awkward fidget, black hair covering his nervous eyes. Turns out Kaito was pretty shy when it came to being sappy.

Izuku had just pulled the two of them into a big hug. Another tissue box was sacrificed. Kaito said he takes back thinking that Izuku had a mumbling quirk, instead suggesting that he had super tear ducts instead.

In those ten whole months, he never once saw Kacchan. Inko had found out through Mitsuki that Katsuki had passed the entrance exam with flying colours. Deku wasn’t surprised, but he wasn’t bitter about it either. Katsuki would be a powerful hero.

The greenette could easily admit that his old childhood friend had incredible combat sense, physical form and high intelligence – not to mention a crazy quirk.

Bakugou had an unwavering determination to win and be number one. He was in theory, the perfect candidate for becoming a hero. Sometimes it was a little overwhelming.

But unfortunately, in Izuku’s opinion, it took more than overwhelming strength to make a hero.

Much to his surprise, he found himself thinking of his childhood friend more than he expected. Sometimes he hoped that maybe the blonde would visit his house, but Izuku always pushed those thoughts away. _He doesn’t care, he hates you._

But Izuku just thought, in those few moments before they parted, that the blonde had looked just a tiny bit devastated at the prospect of the greenette leaving.

Nevertheless, Izuku would always shake his head and continue to push forward. _I need to keep walking forward, not looking back. Life is looking up for me now. I have a new goal. I have people in my life that like me for me. There’s no time to dwell on the past._

* * *

On the final day of what would have been his third year of middle school, Izuku stood before Nedzu in the Principle’s office of U.A High. Izuku felt nervous, sure, but the excitement and anticipation of what was to come overpowered those niggling thoughts and lingering butterflies.

He now stood tall (well as tall as he could, considering he was still only about 5’5”). His shoulders were broad, arms bearing lean, toned muscles that developed from countless hours of hard work and brutal physical training. The boy wore his dark green compression top with matching black cargo pants and boots – the attire he’d used whilst in the workshop, although he now had his new red bandana fastened around his forehead.

“Good morning Sensei,” He offered with a smile and a bow, before swiftly looking back up and regaining his calm stance with his hands behind his back. Nedzu chuckled lightheartedly from where he sat behind his desk, the _I_ chimera standing and leaping up onto the wooden surface and standing in front of the boy.

“Always so polite, Izuku-kun. Good morning to you too, and congratulations. I’m very proud of how far you’ve come,” Nedzu added, and Izuku flushed with embarrassment, bowing once again. Nedzu was relieved – even through all his accomplishments, his student was still the bright eyed, humble boy he’d first met.

“As I’m positive you already know, this is your last day of your homeschooling. In a week you’ll be attending your first day of U.A in the support course. There are a few adjustment that had to be made, though,” Nedzu added, and Izuku brows peaked in curiosity.

“Since you have completed several advanced courses and are far more advanced than most students in subjects such as mathematics and science, you will instead be allocated free periods in those subjects where you will be allowed to go to the development studio and have extra lessons with me,”

“I also want to organise an internship for you at pro hero Edgeshot’s agency to work with a few of the people in their support department,” Nedzu announced, and Izuku’s eyes widened.

“Really? Wow, uh. Thank you, sir. You invest so much time in mentoring me, it’s really an honour,” Izuku blurted, tearing up a little. Another bow. The chimera smiled fondly, patting the teenager’s green curls.

“Of course, Kohai. It’s a pleasure teaching you,” The principal responded before returning to his serious expression.

“Also, there’s another surprise,” Nedzu added, and Izuku felt a little giddy with all the sudden news.

_What else?!_

“Our head support course teacher Powerloader has invited you, along with student Mei Hatsume, to assist in supervising class 1-A’s hero costume design. They’ll be trialing all there gear on the second day, which is when they’ll have their first combat lesson. Afterwards, students are required to visit the development studio to give feedback on their gear. From there, they can get modifications without government supervision. U.A support teacher Powerloader usually looks over them to make any necessary adjustments, but he has other responsibilities that have come up. I know you’re quite busy, but if you’re up for it, the offer stands,”

_Mei as well? Now way, that’s great!_

Izuku blinks. _I’m quite busy… It makes me sound like I’m way more important than I am_ , he thought with a bashful smile, ruffling his bed of emerald curls with a fingerless gloved hand. He thanked Kaito for the new bandana – his hair way now way more easy to get out of his face than before.

“W-well of course! I’d respectfully accept, sir. It’s a privilege,” He added, adding another bow to the counter. He’s at four now. _I really hope I’m not embarrassing myself… I do that enough as it is._

“Excellent, I’l pass your answer on. He’ll probably send you some sort of mail later to confirm some details. For now, that’s all. How are you feeling anyway? You’ve been quite caught up in a lot of stuff recently,” Nedzu added, and Izuku chuckled.

“Yeah, this whole year has just felt so surreal. I’m fine though, really. I’m… really happy,” Izuku replied, the last bit coming out like some sort of confession. Nedzu sighed, leaping back into his chair and fixing his tie.

“Well, that’s good then! I’ll give you the rest of the week off so you can prepare for your first day at this school. Have you got your uniform?”

“Yes sensei,”

“Good. Your support gear for in the workshop should come soon too. We don’t want to ruin your uniform before you can even wear it to class,” Nedzu joked, before smiling.

“Well then, if you’re all set and don’t have any questions, I’m afraid we’ll have to say goodbye. I have to go and prepare for my next class,”

Izuku nodded, before waving.

“That’s all fine, Sensei. I’ll see you soon. Thanks again,”

“Of course,”

* * *

Nedzu was right – his support gear had come very soon. In fact, it arrived the night before his first time attending U.A. He’d tried it on – it was very similar to his original engineering outfit, though this time they were specialised for his type of work.

It was a dark green jumpsuit with long sleeves and pants. Over the top was a fully black vest with several pockets for tools and gear. He also unwrapped what he’d been looking forward to the most –

A dark red shoulder strap that was tied around his upper chest. It was a substitute utility belt that he found was easier to use when he was working on a project.

He’d also decided he’d just wear his electro boots that Hatsume gave him in the workshop too, seeing as it was way easier to get around using them anyway. That night, he’d packed all his gear up ready for his first day.

As he stared at his bright yellow backpack, a wave of realisation hit him.

_Holy wow… I’m going to Yuuei. This was my dream!_

Izuku shook his head. _This is my dream._

* * *

“Izuku!”

Midoriya was walking towards the huge school gates. He had already been inside several times, but knowing that he was going to be here as a student was nerve-wracking. He’d just pulled up his sleeve to check that the safety lock on his gauntlet was on when he heard someone call for him.

Turning around, he looked over to see Yudai waving at him with a huge grin on his face.

“Yudai-kun?!” Izuku called back, not even caring that the two were making a scene. The two ran at each other, colliding into a big hug.

“Broooo, you look so different! My little dude is growing up before my very eyes. I think I’m going to cry,” Yudai added dramatically, wiping a mock tear from his eye.

Yudai had changed a little too – His spiky orange and red hair had been shaped into a clean looking undercut, and Izuku gaped when he saw three red studs travelling up the side of his friend’s left ear.

“I love your earrings!”

“I’m digging your bandana. That was Kaito’s gift for your birthday, right?”

“You knew about that?”

“Of course! I actually have a present for you too, but I didn’t get to see you on your big day so I had to wait until now. It’s in my backpack, I’ll give it to you once we’re inside,” Yudai added, and Izuku bowed deeply in thanks.

  
“Dude, chill! It’s no biggie,”

Suddenly a pair of hands dug into Izuku’s waist, and the greenette let out a shriek and jumped into the air. When he whipped around, he turned to see Kaito with an evil smirk on his face.

“Wow, I wasn’t expecting that much of a reaction. Hi,”

“H-hello K-K-Kaito-kun,” He replied shakily, still recovering from his fright. The three boys heard a familiar laugh and turned in unison, only to see Akina, Hatsume and Shouka all standing their with pleasant smiles.

“Hey boys. Stop overwhelming little Izu, he’ll faint like last time,” Hatsume teased fondly, referring to the time when they reunited at the Y.E.P and Izuku had almost fainted when he saw them.

The boy in mention covered his face in embarrassment, and Yudai gave him a powerful clap on the back to cheer him up.

“Alright, alright. We should head inside, right? I’m pretty sure we all got into class 1-F, so we should be…” Yudai murmured, looking down at a map of the school in confusion. Luckily Akina came to his rescue.

“All the first year classes are in Block A, so we should just follow the crowd,” The white haired girl said with a helpful tone, pointing to the correct spot on the map. Yudai sighed, putting a hand over his forehead.

“How can I be smart in the workshop but as intelligent as a brick anywhere else,” He complained, ruffling his fiery hair before falling into step with the others as they followed Akina towards a large building, the glassy exterior glinting as warm sunshine reflected off of the dozens of windows.

Izuku greeted Shouka with a small wave, keeping his voice calm and quiet. He had learnt that Shouka was a gentle soul, a shy young lady with a lot of potential. Shouko was introverted, sure, but that didn’t stop the others from adoring her. She was truly very sweet once she opened up to someone.

“Thank you for the present. I really appreciate the effort Kaito and you put into it,” He thanked with a big smile, to which Shouka quietly reciprocated. “Of course, Izuku-kun. It wasn’t anything that amazing,” She said in dismissal, but Izuku just shook his head.

  
“Of course it was! You’re super talented,” Midoriya praised, and Shouka just bowed her head before chuckling.

  
“Yeah… I guess. T-thanks,” Shouka replied, not sounding very convinced but grateful all the same.

“YOOOOOOO! ALL THE FIRST YEARS COME THIS WAYYYYY! IT’S TIME FOR ORIENTATION!” A teacher said from the front of the crowd, his hair pulled back into a huge blonde spike and a pair of glasses sitting over his eyes.

Izuku blinked in surprise at that, then raised an eyebrow as he saw another class branch off from the rest of the group and set off towards the huge back field. At the front of the group was a tall man covered in a dark suit. Around his neck was a light grey scarf.

_Eraserhead? He’s the hero with the capture weapon I took inspiration from!_

Wait.

_That must be class 1-A… which means that… Kacchan is-_

As soon as that thought drifted into his mind, he saw a mop of spiky blonde hair amongst the class, and sure enough, it was Katsuki Bakugou. His old childhood friend didn’t notice him, and thank god because Izuku was NOT prepared, if his reaction of cold shock was enough to know.

_Oh god, he’s right over there. Please don’t notice me, please don’t notice-_

Luckily the class soon left Izuku’s sight, disappearing into the distance. Izuku let out a sigh of relieve, feeling pathetic from his reaction. _Why am I so nervous anyway? It’s not Kacchan would even care if he knew that I was here. I should just get over this silly fear already._

“Are you alright? Seemed to freak out for a second there,” Kaito muttered from beside him, and Izuku took a deep breath to calm himself down before nodding quietly.

“Yeah, it’s nothing. Sorry for worrying you,” The greenette murmured back as the blonde teacher shouted loudly in the background.

After that little bump, things went smoothly. The orientation was quite normal, in fact Izuku was surprised at how quickly it passed. The teachers had mainly just gone over the school rules and regulations, how classes worked, what teachers taught what classes and so on.

Before he knew it, Izuku had already left and was now standing outside of his first class, his friends beside him.

“Class 1-F… here we come,” Izuku breathed, before opening the door.

All at once he was hit with the sound of chatter and chaos, looking inside to find students scattered around the room and talking loudly. There were a lot of people introducing themselves and such, but all of that quietened down as soon as the six of them walked inside.

At once there were exactly fourteen other pairs of eyes them, and Izuku felt his skin tingles uncomfortably.

“Uhhh - ” He began, hating how weak his voice sounded.

  
“Woah, that’s Izuku Midoriya and Akina Hinata! Apparently they both got in through recommendations,” Someone called out, and Izuku jumped, turning his head to see a short girl with a bright neon green bob pointing at him with a huge grin. There were a few murmurs at this, but the girl didn’t take any notice as she walked over and grabbed the hands of the two people mentioned, shaking it vigorously.

  
“Hey, my names Yuu Nagami. I’ve heard about you,” She added, and Izuku just blinked before smiling shyly.

  
“Um, yeah! It’s nice to meet you t - ”

“Oh great, the tryhards have arrived. They probably think they’re better than us,” A boy with dark red hair rolled his eyes, and Izuku felt like he’d been stung. Looking over to the boy wearily, he watched as the teen stood up, walking over to stand in front of the greenette.

  
His blue eyes narrowed as he looked Izuku up and down before letting out a _tsk_ and doing the same to Akina who had a frown on her face.

“Hey, who do you think you are?” Kaito scowled at the boy, stepping out and and squaring up a little with his hands still in his pockets.

“My name’s Haru Tsukiyama, last time I checked,” The boy responded with a sharp tone, scrunching his nose up at the raven before turning back to Izuku and Akina.

‘Let’s get this straight – Just because you got into some stupid program doesn’t give you the right to think you’re better than the rest of us. Don’t go acting all high and mighty,” He finished with a glare before whipping around and stalking back to his seat.

Izuku stood frozen for a moment, but felt a hand on his shoulder. Nagami was looking at him with a sympathetic gaze.

  
“I’m really sorry about that – He’s usually an okay guy. The thing is, he tried out for the Y.E.P but never got accepted into the program. I think he’s just jealous,” Nagami explained.

  
Izuku’s mouth made an ‘o’ shape, before he tilted his head.

“You two know each other?”

The bright haired girl looked away with a disgruntled expression.

  
“It’s complicated,” She offered, before shaking her head.

“Anyway, please don’t let his little tantrum get you down. The rest of us are happy to meet you, I think?”

_Well that’s reassuring-_

Izuku didn’t have time to reply as Powerloader came into the classroom, asking for everyone to take their seats. In no time at all, Izuku had began his first lesson. His seat was to the far left of the room in the second row from the back, just in front of Tsukiyama. The greenette felt a hostile gaze digging into his back through the whole class.

_That definitely was not how I expected my first class to be…_


	8. Reunion / What Happened to You?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bakugou is feeling very conflicted with the return of Izuku Midoriya. It’s awkward on both sides, and Deku doesn’t seem to want to tell him anything.
> 
> Also, if you haven’t figured it out, Deku’s outift is very much based off of the new Steampunk Au art

That day passed relatively quickly. Most of Izuku’s classes were quite fun, even though he didn’t actually participate in two of the main subjects – of course being mathematics and science as his mentor had requested. It’d been an awkward scene when mathematics rolled around and Midoriya had asked the teacher for permission to leave for his free period.

Tsukiyama had scoffed at him, and Kaito had send daggers from across the room.

Hatsume had also left, explaining to Izuku that Powerloader had requested to see both of them before the end of the day. Since their first practical support class had been cancelled out on the timetable by the welcome orientation, they’d both decided that it’d be best to go during mathematics.

Hatsume grinned as she walked over to the door and burst forward, letting the door swing with a dramatic _whoosh._ Izuku let out a yelp, then released that Powerloader was watching with a deadpanned expression from the back of the development studio.

“Can you please not break the door. It’s only your first day – you don’t need property damage on your semester one report,” Powerloader grunted, before beckoning the two of them in.

Izuku obeyed, fidgeting awkwardly with the tie of his school uniform.

“Hello Sensei. We were told that you wanted to s -”

“Teach! Hurry up and tell us whatcha neeeeeed! I wanna make something already!” Hatsume cut him off with an excited giggle, fists clenched and pumping the air in anticipation. The teacher sighed in exasperation, holding up a piece of paper.

“These are the costume files and instructions for the hero students. Hatsume will be taking charge of 1-B. Midoriya, you’ll be assigned to 1-A. This will give you an even workload of 20 students each. Since I’ve got my hands full reworking one of my third year student’s gear, I’ll need to entrust this assignment to you.

“You two, according to your student records, are both are at the top of the class, along with Akina Hinata and Haru Tsukiyama. From what I know, you are both exceptionally creative when it comes to gear design. I’m relying on you two to be able to modify and make sure that all the students’ gear is ready to be sent through the the government and design companies. You need to be able to satisfy the client’s quirk needs whilst also taking realistic scenarios into consideration. Remember that the students have to pay for modifications that they make,”

Izuku gulped. _This seems like such a huge responsibility…_

“Anyway, you already said yes to this so you’re stuck with it,”

_Oh, well I guess that settles it then –_

“For today I’ll just show you what things to watch out for when examining the forms so we can eliminate any impossible requests or items that go against regulation, and then tomorrow you’ll be working with the students to confirm all the measurements, materials and request any input you have,”

Hatsume and Midoriya nodded eagerly, the greenette‘s bright with life. _I’m nervous, but… I’m also getting really excited!_

_. . ._

Aizawa stood at the front of the class, concentrating with a piece of chalk grasped tightly as he wrote something up on the blackboard.

_Hero Costumes and Gear._

“Now, everyone remembers our first combat lesson yesterday. That not only served as a way for us to examine your current skill level, but also the quality of your gear. Some people may need minor or major adjustments made to their costumes or gear, so this is your opportunity,”

Bakugou scowled at that. Thank god, he definitely needed to refit his gear.The gauntlets that he’d used yesterday had come out weighing a fuck-ton. At one point he’d had to let out a long range blast, and the fucking gauntlet nearly dislocated his shoulder in the process.

Some idiot had decided to use straight iron as the material for the structure of the gauntlet, making it not only heavy, but bulky as _fuck._ As cool as they looked, he definitely needed a refit, and soon. It didn’t matter how strong he was – he was not putting up with those freaking gauntlets every single time he wanted to use his quirk.

He heard Glasses, who from who he could already tell was a total buzzkill, mutter something from the other side of the room.

“My engine does seem to overheat with the added insulation of my suit… perhaps I can get some sort of cooling item to prevent that from happening,”

The guy with the shitty red hair hummed in agreement.

“I need my metal face mask to be made out of a stronger material… It’s only been a day and it’s already bent outta shape,” Kirishima sighed in slight disappointment.

There were a few other quiet complaints, but the murmuring was quickly silenced by Aizawa.

“That’s exactly what I mean – Issues like that are what you need to take up with the person you’ll be talking to,” Aizawa cut them off, before crossing his arms.

“Aren’t we supposed to go to Powerloader sir?” The young lady by the name of Momo Yaoyurozu asked, hand raised in the air with an aura of elegance.

“I thought someone’d ask that,” Aizawa sighed.

“Which leads to the next part. Powerloader is preoccupied. One of his students had all of his gear destroyed during an exam, so he has had to remade and rework all of his gear. So, instead we’ve had two support course students agree to help out,”.

“Are they third years? Please let them be hot girls,” Ballhead pleaded, and Bakugou could already tell that the pervert was drooling over his fucking desk.

“No, they’re in your year. You probably don’t know them, but they’ve been assigned to either of the hero classes. So, instead of Powerloader, you’ll be working with - ”

At that moment, there was a timid knock on the door, and Aizawa reluctantly trudged over, opening the door. There, standing in the hallway, was a freckled greenette with his hand raised mid-knock. Bright green eyes widened as he looked up at the teacher, but Aizawa didn’t seem to mind.

“Student Izuku Midoriya, from support class 1-F,” Aizawa finished, gesturing for Izuku to come inside.

Bakugou almost fell out of his chair.

There Deku stood, head tilted in curiosity and gazing around the classroom in wonder, like some sort of puppy. Then, in that moment, he felt the pair of emerald eyes lock with his, and it was like the whole world froze.

He looked so strange.

_Holy shit, he’s wearing a jumpsuit?_

He blinked in surprise at the greenette’s get-up. The dark green fabric matched his hair perfectly, with the black vest covering all of his mid torso and chest. There was a red shoulder strap fastened over his left side, the whole thing holding tools of all kinds.  
  
Not to mention the futuristic as fuck boots on his feet, or the gauntlet attached to his wrist. _Wait, is that the thing with the freakin’ stun pins in it? Hell no, he better not point that thing at me again._

There was the bandana tied loosely around his neck, like it had been pulled down as though it wasn’t in use. It was red, with a strange looking symbol at the the centre. Bakugou couldn’t tell what it was from where he was sitting.

_Since when did the nerd use headbands and shit?_

That wasn’t even the strangest thing though – It was his physical form that shocked him the most. Last time he’d seen his childhood playmate, Deku had been a scrawny little kid, pointy shoulders and bony arms. Now he was broad-shouldered, a little taller. There were muscles prominent underneath the fabric, and Bakugou almost considered the fact that he was hallucinating.

_What the fuck, Deku._

He didn’t know what he was expecting, but this was the last thing in a million different scenarios.

Deku looked like a deer caught in the headlights, eyes blinking in horror. Realising he had to introduce himself to the class. Recovering, he quickly recovered before bowing politely.

“Hi there. I’m Midoriya Izuku, as Mr. Aizawa said. I’m looking forward to working with you,” He added.

Bakugou turned with a raised eyebrow as Iida raised his hand.

“Sir, I do not want to be rude, but surely it would be unwise to let someone so inexperienced handle our equipment? He’s only a first year, like us, so surely he can’t possibly ensure the quality of our gear,”

_What the fuck Glasses?_

Bakugou was surprised with how defensive he suddenly felt.

Aizawa lifted an eyebrow, quickly shaking his head and gesturing to Izuku, who looked like he wanted the floor to swallow him from underneath his fucking cyborg boots.

“Midoriya here got into U.A’s top class through recommendations not only from the Principal himself, but from both hosts at the Youth Engineering Program. He is already studying at a university level in both Science and Mathematics, ranking him theoretically as the most academically advanced student out of not just all the first years, but also many of the second and third years.

“So, to answer your question, no, he is the most qualified candidate to deal with your gear. Maybe you should practice refraining from judging someone based on first impressions,” Aizawa suggested.

Iida immediately shut up after that. You could practically smell the embarrassment.

Bakugou was absolutely _floored._

_He’s already… and he did that in ten fucking months? What kind of school did he go to? What the actual FUCK is going on –_

All that time that he was in Aldera Middle School for ten months, Izuku was turning into a fucking Greek-god GENIUS?!

_Did I just call him a GREEK GOD?!_

Bakugou’s brain was literally broken.

“Anyway, all of you will get the chance to talk to him. We’ll go in seat order. Aoyama, you’re up first. When I call the rest of you up, you’ll go to the development studio at the end of the corridor,” Aizawa waved his hand with an air of nonchalance, leaving the greenette to look around the room in confusion,”

“Ah, Monsieur, that’d be _moi_ ,” The blonde in mention called, raising with a dramatic bow and walking with poise over to Deku, who had an awkward smile on his face still.

“Hello, Aoyama. Uh, I’ll show you to the studio,” Izuku offered, holding the door for Aoyama and allowing him to walk out first.

  
“What a gentlemen!” Aoyama cooed, and Izuku just ruffled the back of his messy mop of hair with a chuckle before disappearing with Katsuki’s classmate.

Bakugou didn’t know what to do.

_I’m going to have to talk to him. Fuck, what am I supposed to say? “Oh, hey nerd, how are you? Remember last time you saw me ten months ago and we ended up fucking brawling in the middle of an alleyway?”_

_By the way, thanks for fucking ditching me to go to some A-grade school with the weakest goodbye of all time._

_His_ goodbye was weak? Bakugou hadn’t even been able to say anything!  
  


_Shut the fuck up._

Bakugou let out a huff, rolling his eyes and deciding to distract himself by looking around the classroom. The girl with the pink cheeks on the other side of the classroom was staring the door with a shocked face and a light blush tinting her cheeks.

“Wow! He… was really cute,” She whispered, eyes wide, and Bakugou felt something _really_ ugly twist in his gut.

_The fuck was that?_

About six or so minutes had passed by when Aoyama finally walked back through the door, looking very pleased with himself.

“Midoriya-kun is a true genius! Well, of course not as smart as I, but very close!” The blond had chimed, sitting back down in his chair and staring off into space. The girl with pink skin and bright yellow eyes ( _I’m pretty sure that’s the acid chick,_ Bakugou had recalled) had only given the blonde a weird stare before standing up and walking out of the classroom.

The rest of the class slowly each had their turn talking to the teen, each of them coming back looking quite satisfied. Soon it was Bakugou’s turn, and he felt dread set in the bottom of his stomach as he stood up with a loud sigh.

Taking his suitcase containing his hero gear, he trudged out of the classroom, eyes set in a glower and hands stuffed into pockets.

The walk to the development studio felt like it took years. Each step filled him with a strange anxiety he wasn’t used to. _Why am I so stressed over this? It’s just Deku._

With that thought he tried straightening up a little, taking a deep breath and knocking on the large metal door with a little too much aggression.

He was about to knock again when the entire fucking door EXPLODED outwards, causing him to let out a shout and leap to the side. A plume of smoke rushed out of the door, and Bakugou raised an eyebrow, face contorted in outrage.

_What the fuck?_

“Hatsume! What did I say about breaking the door?!” A scold came from inside, and Bakugou wasted no time stepping inside and preparing a flurry of insults.

  
“Oi, who the hell just d - ”

All the insults died on his tongue as soon as the smoke cleared. There in the room was Izuku Midoriya, hanging from the ceiling upside with a chain suspended from a strange device on the other hand that was gauntlet free.

His bright green curls hung downwards, exposing his lightly freckled forehead. The boy had a huge smile on his face as he stared at Hatsume, was scowling at at a _very_ broken device on the floor.

“Hatsume-san, it didn’t explode as fast this time. See, improvement!” Izuku chimed, and Hatsume flipped him off, the crude gesture not matching the fond look in her eyes.

“Oh, shut it Izu-kun. Not all my stuff can be explosion-free, unlike your amazing inventions!”

“That’s not true! The power suit, Mei! The POWER SUIT!” He repeated, as though to emphasise some hidden point. The boy opened his mouth to speak again, but the words got caught in his throat when he finally realised Bakugou standing in the doorway, with a completely lost expression on his face.

“Oh!” Deku yelped, retracting the chain back into the gauntlet and falling to the ground with soundless elegance. Bakugou then realised that his shoes weren’t even touching the ground. _Wait, those things… are hover boots?!_

_“_ Uh. Hi, Bakugou-kun. What can I help you with?”

_Bakugou-kun? What kind of name is th-_

Bakugou got brought back to reality by the awkward clearing of a throat, then realised that he must look like an idiot. Regaining his composure, he cleared his throat and allowed his usually gritty voice come out.

“Oi, I was told to come here and talk you ‘bout modifying my gear. If you’re fucking busy being a bat then I’ll just come b - ”

“Oh, right. K-Bakugou-kun, you have the gauntlets that store your sweat, don’t you? What kind of modifications were you wanting to get?” Izuku cut him off, and Bakugou was left with his mouth open. _Since when did this guy have the nerve-_

Shaking it off, he lifted the suitcase up onto Izuku’s messy workbench, opening it up to reveal his gauntlets that were sitting comfortably inside. Something caught his eye, and he turned to see a huge stack of notebooks sitting in the corner of the desk.

_Equipment Analysis #14, Basics of Engineering #15._

_Hero Analysis For The Future #13._

A flurry of emotions hit him like a punch when he saw the title, and he didn’t even notice that he visibly recoiled until the nerd looked up at him with confusion.

“Are you okay, Bakugou-kun?”

Bakugou squinted his eyes in annoyance, shaking his head to clear out the cobwebs.

  
“What? Yeah, and stop fuckin’ calling me that. It’s just weird,” He spat out, not even realising what he’d done before he could stop it.

The nerd’s eyes widened in disbelief, before quickly averting from the vermillion gaze locked on his face _._ It was only brief, but Katsuki had seen it all the same. He didn’t understand why Izuku reacted like that, but he knew that it couldn’t have been good.

“Alright, _Kacchan_. How can I help you?”

Bakugou clicked his tongue, grabbing a chair from the other workbench and slumping down behind the other side of the workbench.

_This is so fucking awkward._

“The gauntlets are complete shit – they’re way too big and heavy. There’s no way I can even create enough sweat to fill the inside of it, so the size is just a big fat nuisance,” Bakugou complained bluntly, a deadpanned expression hiding how much he was not enjoying this conversation.

Izuku was watching him with careful eyes, furrowing slightly before humming and taking out a piece of paper from his pocket, something that looked like a list. His eyes skimmed over it briefly before looking back up.

  
“That’s what I was thinking. I actually took a look at your request form yesterday. It seems really impractical,” Izuku muttered to himself, taking out the gauntlet and examining it more closely.

_Where have you been?_

Bakugou watched his old childhood friend as he scribbled something down in another notebook that had its label hidden, before setting the piece of gear back down in front of Bakugou.

  
“Like I thought, the main chassis is solid iron. I mean, it looks amazing,” He praised, and Bakugou rolled his eyes. _He used to fanboy about heroes, but not he’s doing it to inanimate objects._

“ - But that can’t be good for your arms or shoulders,” Deku grimaced, before putting his pencil down.

“So, uh, I actually had some ideas that I wanted to suggest,” Izuku prompted, causing Bakugou to raise an eyebrow in interest.

“Oh?” He muttered reluctantly, and Izuku shifted in his seat. _Knew it, this is just as awkward for him._

“Um… yeah. I think that we could replace the metal chassis with some type of carbon fibre that is just as strong, but a little lighter,” Izuku mumbled, before taking a deep breathe. _He’s still nervous to talk to me._

Bakugou didn’t how he felt about that.

“Or, I could remake them from scratch. I um, I think it has a lot of room for improvement, so personally I don’t it’s really worth just modifying them, but it’s totally the client’s decision,”

“What happened to you?” Bakugou blurted out, catching Izuku off guard. _Shit._

The greenette almost jumped in his seat, which Bakugou would have used to find funny, but now he just felt guilty.

  
“Um, I don’t what y-you mean?” Izuku asked, clearly searching for some way to get out of this situation.

Bakugou scoffed, leaning forward so now they were just inches away from each other. Bakugou’s face was scrunched up into a scowl.

  
“You fuck off to nowhere for ten whole months, without even telling me where you went, and then suddenly show up again after apparently getting in through _recommendations_ and call me _Bakugou-san_. What the fuck? Where have you been? What’s with the gauntlet from hell and the weird-ass boots on your feet and the millions of notebooks all over your desk?”

Izuku froze, stunned momentarily, before narrowing his eyes. Anger didn’t look very nice on Deku.

“Why do you care?” Deku responded, apparently supposed to be a question, but it came out defensive as fuck and Bakugou didn’t know how to reply. It took a second, but he recovered and sat back into his chair again.

“I don’t. Just curious,” He shrugged nonchalantly, and Deku scoffed.

_That little shit just scoffed._

Deku looked away, staring off at his notebooks on the far side of the desk, before shaking his head and turning back to face his old friend. He stood up, causing Bakugou to do the same.

“Well, if that’s all, you can give your answer and go back to class,” Deku spoke after a moment, moving to put the gauntlet back in its case, but Bakugou caught his wrist.

“You don’t get to fucking dismiss me, Deku, we ain’t done talking yet,” The blonde said angrily. He wanted answers.

Something close to fury ignited in the greenette’s eyes, and before Bakugou could move, Deku had yanked Bakugou’s arm around and pinned it behind his back and was now moving towards the door.

“No, we definitely are done. You haven’t changed at all, have you,” Deku added bitterly, causing a painful feeling to claw at his chest.

  
“The hell is that supposed to mean? Let go, Deku!”

“Just- leave please, Kacchan,” Izuku finished abruptly, and the last thing Kacchan saw was Izuku staring down at him with rueful emerald eyes before the door closed in his face.

_It’s just the same as last time._

_Deku wants nothing to do with me anymore._


End file.
